Search

March 11, 2013

Hello World: travels in virtuality was first published in March 2004 by Raw Nerve Books. At that time it could only be produced in print and pdf formats but now, nine years later, it has entered its home territory of cyberspace.

The Hello World blog was launched in 2004 with the original publication of the book and was live through 2004-5. Today it's a memorable archive of some of the things we were talking about in those years. Start reading it here.

Hello World was converted to Kindle by Zak Mensah of Tribehut. An E-pub edition follows soon.

May 09, 2012

Many thanks to everyone who came to my Professorial Lecture on 26 April. We had good conversations afterwards, and there were some interesting comments on Twitter too - see #technobiophilia

I've uploaded the slides here, and audio will follow soon. I've added two more slides at the end with some links I used in the lecture plus a brief bibliography for those interested in finding out more about biophilia.

February 26, 2012

My Professorial Lecture was postponed from its original date last November and will now take place at 6pm on Thursday 26 April 2012. Tea and coffee are served from 5.30pm and refreshments are provided afterwards at 7pm. I'm really looking forward to it and extend a warm welcome to all friends and colleagues. Admission is free. Registration is here.

The Future of Cyberspace

The act of entering cyberspace was, along with the entering of outer space, one of the most profound experiences of the twentieth century. In 1969, humans landed first ‘on’ the moon (July), and then ‘in’ cyberspace (September) with the connection of the first two nodes of the internet. Today the mountains of the Moon remain neglected and unexplored, but cyberspace has evolved into a deeply familiar habitat whose geography has been shaped by those who built and used it. This lecture will explore the evolution of the landscape of cyberspace from its creation as an unpopulated wilderness through its exploration, colonisation, cultivation, settlement and growth, and offers some predictions for the future of this most exotic place.

December 31, 2011

As we go into what will probably be a difficult year across the world let's remember the immortal words of computer pioneer Ted Nelson:EVERYTHING IS DEEPLY INTERTWINGLED (Nelson, T. Computer Lib/Dream Machines, 1974). And that's not just about computers...

December 18, 2011

Next month I'll be in California to do further research on my book and give two talks. The first, on 'Nature and Cyberspace', is at the Technology, Knowledge and Society Conference at UCLA 16-18th January. The second is on 'Amplification and Biophilia in a Networked World' at the Institute for the Future, Palo Alto, on 24th January. It will be a special pleasure to go back to IFTF, where I gave a talk a few years ago. I'll also be doing some research during the trip, and very much hope to visit the new Kleinrock Internet History Center at UCLA, located in the room which hosted the very first ARPANET node.

My Professorial Lecture has been postponed. The date, 30th November, was set months ago but now it clashes with possible nationwide industrial action. I feel this creates too many conflicts and complications so would prefer to find a different date. We are looking for an alternative some time in Spring 2012, and meanwhile I'd like to thank everyone who signed up and hope very much you'll be able to make it on the alternative date. I really appreciate your interest in the talk, and will announce the new date as soon as it's decided.

Update: The lecture has been rescheduled for 26 April 2012 but booking hasn't opened yet.

October 17, 2011

I'm speaking at this event in Lincoln and looking forward to working with a great group of people. It's part of the Frequency Festival and you can register here

'A powerful and provocative day of discovery, insight and debate looking at the future of writing and publishing and arming you with the pervasive opportunities and challenges that ‘digital’ provides in this ever-changing world. Hosted in partnership with Writing East Midlands, the University of Lincoln and Threshold Studios, Re/Write will broaden your horizons and challenge your perceptions of what it means to be a writer or a creative in the digital age.'

September 17, 2011

Every professor is asked at some point to give a Professorial Lecture. I've been invite to present mine on the evening of 30th November 2011. I'm really looking forward to it and I'd like to extend a warm welcome to all friends and colleagues. Admission is free but you need to register via this page.

The Future of Cyberspace

The act of entering cyberspace was, along with the entering of outer space, one of the most profound experiences of the twentieth century. In 1969, humans landed first ‘on’ the moon (July), and then ‘in’ cyberspace (September) with the connection of the first two nodes of the internet. Today the mountains of the Moon remain neglected and unexplored, but cyberspace has evolved into a deeply familiar habitat whose geography has been shaped by those who built and used it. This lecture will explore the evolution of the landscape of cyberspace from its creation as an unpopulated wilderness through its exploration, colonisation, cultivation, settlement and growth, and offers some predictions for the future of this most exotic place.

August 30, 2011

Today, the looming start of term requires grant and report writing but I cannot settle to it without first referencing one of those complex Twitter conversations that suddenly burst out last night and needs to be addressed. This is where Twitter quickly becomes annoyingly much too constraining, but this post will also be short as time is limited today.

Last night @dajbelshaw@ambrouk@PatParslow@hrheingold@daveowhite and I were discussing a new post by @dajbelshaw on digital literacies, open source and Google, a conversation which led us in all kinds of directions including digital and analogue cultural normalization, crap detection, and the post-digital. This morning I followed up on suggested reading via 2 pieces by @daveowhite from 2009 - one on the post-digital and an earlier one on preparing for it.

I'd like to make a quick comment on the notion of post-digital, or post- anything for that matter. My research into transliteracy has convinced me that thinking linearly about literacy is seldom a good idea. Literacy should be thought of as a holistic ecology, not a linear series of events and changes. Yes, we can trace all kinds of 'first uses' to dates or moments in time but what is much more important than a first use is the way that a tool or skill becomes integrated and unified within the greater sphere of all literacies - nonverbal, visual, grammatical, alphabetical, interpersonal, cultural, interactional and so on.

There are some who find transliteracy annoying because it is too much like a theory of everything. I appreciate their irritation, but point out that it was not until we developed the unifying concept of 'the environment' that real progress started to be made in terms of collaboration towards ecological sustainability. I predict that the same will be found to be true of literacy once we realise that the connections between varieties of literacies are endlessly more fascinating and productive than the differences.

July 30, 2011

I am compiling a 'book' proposal, working title The Uses of Transliteracy. The title and final brief are yet to be decided, but I would like it to interrogate the ways in which transliteracy is being examined and applied across disciplines, countries and cultures.

In terms of format, it makes sense for it to be a multimedia product rather than a straightforward print or digital book, so suggestions for appropriate publishers would be very welcome.

At this time, if you'd be interested in contributing please submit some details via this short form. If you'd like to discuss your idea first, please email me.NB: UK academics please note that this volume will *not* be completed in time for the 2014 REF

July 13, 2011

CreativeCoffee Club was founded in 2007 by Toby Moores, CEO of Sleepydog media company, and myself. We wanted to provide a place for business people, academics, teachers, public sector workers and managers to use new social media tools to network and exchange ideas, and to discuss how to foster creativity and innovation in the workplace.

From 2007 to the summer of 2009 CreativeCoffee Club Leicester was coordinated by Shani Lee and met at the Graduate Bar, De Montfort University, but since late 2009 it has been based at Phoenix Square in the heart of Leicester's Cultural Quarter and coordinated by Jayne Childs. The format of fortnightly Wednesday morning meet-ups has proved very successful and remained unchanged for four years, and under Jayne’s leadership CreativeCoffee has gone from strength to strength, gaining a substantial and very active membership.

Since 2007 CreativeCoffee Club has been funded by De Montfort University as part of the NLab project which was established in 2005 to help small businesses respond to the opportunities and challenges of new media. Over the years, NLab has made a major impact on local businesses via its conferences, seminars, mentoring, research and networking opportunities, the most influential of which has been CreativeCoffee. But NLab will come to an end this July, and we’re very pleased that CreativeCoffee Club looks like a valuable spin-off which needs to have a life of its own beyond NLab, so we’re pleased to announce that the management and coordination of CreativeCoffee Club will be handed over to Phoenix Square on 1st August 2011. Phoenix is already an important partner of DMU and this move is further evidence of our continued collaboration.

Invitation - Wednesday 20th July 10.00-12.00

We’ll celebrate the changeover with a display of videos and photos from four years of CreativeCoffee Club, so come along to see yourself in the past! Toby Moores and I will be on hand to say a few words, and then we’ll formally hand over to Phoenix.

July 03, 2011

During my time at the trAce Online Writing Centre, our editor Randy Adams coordinated a wonderful series of articles. This is an opportunity to revisit them, and a reminder that the trAce Archive is hosted by Nottingham Trent University.

May 15, 2011

I really enjoyed speaking at FutureEverything in Manchester last week and, indeed, met quite a few UK geeks who go camping :) Thanks very much to Imran Ali, who invited me, and to Drew Hemment, the magician who has made this impressive event happen annually for 16 years in a row.

I believe there will be a filmed interview available soon but for now here are links to an audio interview and a pdf of my slides.

December 17, 2010

I post this essay here with some trepidation since it is the first academic piece of mine ever published, and it's rather awkward in tone. But I can't miss the chance to celebrate the first Tron, released in 1982. In the early 1990s I was working on my first novel, Correspondence, about a woman who turns herself into a machine. I was fascinated by what I called 'the experience of machine-ness' and I watched Tron over and over again. When I was invited to write a chapter of a book on women and science fiction I knew I wanted to write about Tron, although to be honest I was much more interested in the machine than in the female side of things (ditto the other film I discuss there, Short Circuit).

November 18, 2010

Last week I was very pleased to get hold of a copy of Nick Carr's new book The Shallows just in time for a long train journey. Great. I'd have time and space to really absorb it without distraction. The reality, however, was rather different, because for the first time I became acutely aware that it was actually the book itself that was distracting me from the real world. This is how it happened.

November 08, 2010

An offshoot article was recently published in an e-book produced for the 10th anniversary of the Center for Digital Discourse and Culture at Virginia Tech, Putting Knowledge to Work and Letting Information Play: The Center for Digital Discourse and Culture edited by Timothy W. Luke and Jeremy W. Hunsinger. It's an honour to have been invited to contribute to this collection and I was delighted that my piece was included. It's called "From gunny sacks to mattress vine: notes on Douglas Engelbart, Tim O'Reilly, and the natural world" and it considers some surprising synergies between these two well-known figures. My conclusion might be a bit of a stretch, but it's an interesting stretch, and I enjoyed putting it together.

I've also written an essay for something completely different - a collection about various aspects of the body. That's being edited now and should be out next year.

August 04, 2010

Impact Research Fellow, De Montfort University Part time 0.5 FTE, Fixed term for 6 months

This post is a unique opportunity to analyse the impact of a group of key social media projects in relation to business innovation and the growing field of transliteracy research. It is ideally suited to a scholar wishing to examine the importance of impact in relation to a substantial example of social media practice. The material to be researched includes archives of the NLab business and social network, including CreativeCoffee Club, and of Amplified Leicester, a city-wide experiment in social media. The Transliteracy Research Group originated in the Institute of Creative Technologies at DMU and is led by Professor Sue Thomas and Kate Pullinger. The post is managed by Professor Thomas and situated within the Faculty of Humanities. You will also work closely with the Institute of Creative Technologies.

You should already hold a PhD in a related topic and have previous experience of working on research projects including gathering data via interviews and surveys. You should be able to communicate complex information, orally, in writing and electronically, and be able to communicate material of a specialist or highly technical nature. It is essential that you are a regular and experienced user of social media and have practical skills in social media applications in either business or academic contexts

Closing date 11 October 2010. The post begins on 10 January 2011. More Information

In
the report we concluded that whilst social media is an important tool,
it is the process of amplification which will really contribute to
social cohesion. As such, amplification
is not about making a noise about the city but enhancing the
capabilities of individuals and groups to cope with the complexities of
modern life. (p6)

Part of the purpose of the project was to develop a transferable model. The idea we developed (see p7) is as follows:

Stage 1: Cocoon – The Consciously Amplified GroupCreate a trusted collaborative space where deep diversity flourishes, ideas flow, and social media connects.Features of the Cocoon stage include a closed group covering a highly diverse range of education, IT skills, employment, culture, and ethnicity; a commitment to working within a shared space for an agreed period of time; fearless openness to encounters with big ideas; a focus on social media tools and concepts; personalised tech support where necessary; and a conscious awareness of transliteracy and amplification.

Stage 2: Emergence – From the Amplified Group to the Amplified CityProvide a PUBLIC trusted collaborative space where deep diversity flourishes, ideas flow, and social media connect.

Our experience has indicated that there is a case for the appointment of trained ‘social media community organisers’ who are skilled in transliteracy and amplification techniques. Ideally, these workers will have been drawn from participants who have been through the Cocoon stage and can use online and offline platforms to establish areas of common ground across and between existing diverse networks.

June 11, 2010

In the pre-mobile 90s we were used to our bodies being isolated from each other and tethered to individual desktop machines whilst our minds met together in cyberspace. Today the situation is reversed, and our bodies often share the same physical space whilst our minds are online and elsewhere. Interesting reversal of digital togetherness.

June 06, 2010

At the end of June I'll be visiting China for the first time. I'll be speaking at the DAW Symposium: Visions and Trends in Transdisciplinary Art and Science at the Xi'an Academy of Fine Arts (XAFA). It promises to be a huge and very impressive event. I'm just one of many speakers from several countries and I'm really looking forward to meeting them as well as our Chinese colleagues. I've been learning a little Mandarin this year but not much went in, I have to admit, so I have a lot of revision to do before I leave.

I'd like to thank my colleague in the IOCT, Professor Hongji Yang, for very kindly working out a translation of the word 'transliteracy' for me in both characters and pinyin. I'll be very interested to hear the view of other Mandarin speakers as to what this means to them.

March 11, 2010

In 2009/10 Amplified Leicester offered a small group of participants from across the city the chance to:• Benefit from Leicester's huge diversity of people and cultures• Generate new ideas quickly• Think like a futurist and see the bigger picture• Organise and collaborate better• Be persuasive in different social situations• Share and develop creative ideas• Manage the stream of information which bombards us every day• Choose the best people to collaborate with• Make the most of different kinds of resources – social, economic, creative

Every fortnight participants attended inspiring
lectures and workshops and in between meetings worked together via
Twitter, Facebook and other social media applications. They filmed
interviews in their communities and shared the videos online.

On Thursday 15 April 2010 we will showcase their work and expand the
conversation to include the city and beyond. This one day event at the
new Phoenix Square Digital Media Centre
will include practical workshops run by the participants themselves,
presentations of their experimental projects, and talks by the project
team. Keynote speaker, Andrea Saveri, an independent foresight and
strategy consultant based in Berkeley, California, will locate the
Amplified Leicester experience within a global context. Find out more at www.amplifiedleicester.com

My title is Journalists who tweet: How the news is changing First blogs, now Twitter. Today it’s not enough just to write your copy - many journalists also have to blog and tweet it too. How are those changes affecting the profession and its audiences? This talk discusses the impact of social media upon news reporting and the ways in which contemporary readers expect to interact with the media.